As soon as the government and the DOT gives its approval, the connectivity would be established, T Koshy, vice-president of NSDL, said at a seminar on the securities industry organised by Invest india Foundation.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has already given its approval for the connectivity. At present, 87 depository participants provide services from more than 830 locations.

NSDL has also developed a module for lending and borrowing of securities, and ``we are gearing up for it'', Koshy said. Further NSDL is waiting for a Sebi mandate for handling primary capital issues right from theapplication stages.

At present, NSDL and its depository participant (DP) network become effective onlyat the time of allotment of shares or units. ``We have the necessary expertise for it,'' he said, adding that they had handled one or two offerings on an experimental basis, ``but we have to get the official mandate from Sebi''.

NSDL is also working towards bringing in dividend distribution under its network, instead of the current practice of physical delivery of dividends.Companies which have been sounded out, have responded favourably to the idea, Koshy said.

From May, in order to ensure quality of services, NSDL has launched a certification programme in depository operations. In future, NSDL proposes to make it mandatory for all branches of depository participants to have at least one person qualified in the certification programme. As on April 30, 1999, more than 768 crore shares with a value of Rs 1,16,474 crore were dematerialised, while dematerialisation as a percentage of marketcapitalisation crossed 45 per cent for some 36 scrips.